Friday, 30 March 2012

Minneapolis Shows (April 2012)

Below are some bands on the W♥M Calendar, what this means is that one of us will be in attendance and writing a review of the show. If you would like to have us see your band, we are located in Minneapolis, Sydney (Australia), and Manchester (UK).

PS, I normally cover most/all of the Minneapolis shows, but for the next couple of months, I will be getting help from Amy and Emily.

Local Minneapolis bands have come together to help raise money to fight a proposed constitutional amendment regarding the Marriage Rights.
The bill would effectively ban same-sex marriage for couples in Minnesota; we want you to vote "NO" to the November bill.

All proceeds go directly to Minnesotans United for All Families, a non-partisan organization that works to educate the public on why marriage rights matter and how the amendment poses a threat to our community. Here are some of the bands to donate their time and talent to play for you: Chris Koza of Rogue Valley, Chastity Brown, Gabriel Douglas of The 4onthefloor, Ellis, Ari Herstand, Joe Horton of No Bird Sing, members of The Farewell Circuit, Alison Scott and more, including a special video message from Roster McCabe and a cocktail hour toast from Dessa Darling of Doomtree. Local musician, Dan Rodriguez, will host the evening.

I've previously mentioned Spectrals before, it looks like Louis Jones will be bringing his pop/surf-rock/oo-wop/garage rock to the states. Hopefully, if it all works out, Amy will be covering his appearance at First Avenue on 4/16.

His debut album, Bad Penny, is loved by various critics. BBC is calling it "terrific stuff from a songwriter of any age", while Pitchfork said "It's music pleasant enough to carry intergenerational appeal, characterized by a youthful spirit but rooted in a classic sound." Folks, he's 21 years old.

Frankie Rose (the drummer from Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and Vivian Girls) will be doing some live dates for her Interstellar album (released in the US on February 21st, UK got the album last week).

The album got rave reviews, including from Pitchfork with an "8.5 Best New Music".

I first heard about Brooklyn based We Are Augustines last September, with their debut album Rise Ye Sunken Ships. At the tim, Rolling Stones was calling them "Bands To Watch in 2011".

Since then, they band associated themselves with UK bands, including touring with Glasvegas (which we covered) and now, it looks like they are hanging out with Band of Skulls (who we also covered). I guess by sheer association, they should be good, or at least W♥M would like.

I was told that Providence, Rhode Island-based duo Brown Bird (MorganEve Swain and David Lamb) are coming to Minneapolis, opening for Trampled By Turtles on April 24th at the 7th Street Entry. Did I read that right? There is NO WAY Trample by Turtles would even play a tiny venue like 7th Street, having seen them sell out its bigger brother First Avenue without a sweat. According to First Ave's calendar, Horse Feathers are the headliner.

Just to clarify, they are supporting Trample by Turtles, but later in May.

Okay, their tour dates are actually until May, but I'm putting them down in this tour preview.

We've mentioned Ty Segall a few times, including seeing them at NXNE last year.

It looks like he's back, this time, teaming up with White Fence (who we previously written about). Ty Segall & White Fence is basically Segall and Tim Presley, but with a full band (with Sean Presley and Mikael Cronin).
Their album, Hair, will be coming out April 24th via Drag City Records.

White Fence is playing with the Shins at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium (4/22) and the previously mentioned
Woodsist Fest (8/4).

All dates below are Ty Segall & White Fence, unless (*) where note, which Segall is playing solo

Comments

Below are some bands on the W♥M Calendar, what this means is that one of us will be in attendance and writing a review of the show. If you would like to have us see your band, we are located in Minneapolis, Sydney (Australia), and Manchester (UK).

PS, I normally cover most/all of the Minneapolis shows, but for the next couple of months, I will be getting help from Amy and Emily.

Local Minneapolis bands have come together to help raise money to fight a proposed constitutional amendment regarding the Marriage Rights.
The bill would effectively ban same-sex marriage for couples in Minnesota; we want you to vote "NO" to the November bill.

All proceeds go directly to Minnesotans United for All Families, a non-partisan organization that works to educate the public on why marriage rights matter and how the amendment poses a threat to our community. Here are some of the bands to donate their time and talent to play for you: Chris Koza of Rogue Valley, Chastity Brown, Gabriel Douglas of The 4onthefloor, Ellis, Ari Herstand, Joe Horton of No Bird Sing, members of The Farewell Circuit, Alison Scott and more, including a special video message from Roster McCabe and a cocktail hour toast from Dessa Darling of Doomtree. Local musician, Dan Rodriguez, will host the evening.

I've previously mentioned Spectrals before, it looks like Louis Jones will be bringing his pop/surf-rock/oo-wop/garage rock to the states. Hopefully, if it all works out, Amy will be covering his appearance at First Avenue on 4/16.

His debut album, Bad Penny, is loved by various critics. BBC is calling it "terrific stuff from a songwriter of any age", while Pitchfork said "It's music pleasant enough to carry intergenerational appeal, characterized by a youthful spirit but rooted in a classic sound." Folks, he's 21 years old.

Frankie Rose (the drummer from Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and Vivian Girls) will be doing some live dates for her Interstellar album (released in the US on February 21st, UK got the album last week).

The album got rave reviews, including from Pitchfork with an "8.5 Best New Music".

I first heard about Brooklyn based We Are Augustines last September, with their debut album Rise Ye Sunken Ships. At the tim, Rolling Stones was calling them "Bands To Watch in 2011".

Since then, they band associated themselves with UK bands, including touring with Glasvegas (which we covered) and now, it looks like they are hanging out with Band of Skulls (who we also covered). I guess by sheer association, they should be good, or at least W♥M would like.

I was told that Providence, Rhode Island-based duo Brown Bird (MorganEve Swain and David Lamb) are coming to Minneapolis, opening for Trampled By Turtles on April 24th at the 7th Street Entry. Did I read that right? There is NO WAY Trample by Turtles would even play a tiny venue like 7th Street, having seen them sell out its bigger brother First Avenue without a sweat. According to First Ave's calendar, Horse Feathers are the headliner.

Just to clarify, they are supporting Trample by Turtles, but later in May.

Okay, their tour dates are actually until May, but I'm putting them down in this tour preview.

We've mentioned Ty Segall a few times, including seeing them at NXNE last year.

It looks like he's back, this time, teaming up with White Fence (who we previously written about). Ty Segall & White Fence is basically Segall and Tim Presley, but with a full band (with Sean Presley and Mikael Cronin).
Their album, Hair, will be coming out April 24th via Drag City Records.

White Fence is playing with the Shins at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium (4/22) and the previously mentioned
Woodsist Fest (8/4).

All dates below are Ty Segall & White Fence, unless (*) where note, which Segall is playing solo

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Barbed Wire Kisses by Zoë Howe (St Martin's Press)
The Scottish shoegazing / alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain has a new book written by Zoë Howe called The Jesus and Mary Chain: Barbed Wire Kisses (named after their 1999 album) out today on St Martin's Press.

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer (Grand Central Publishing)
With this upcoming sold out show at the Cedar Cultural Center on Sunday, November 16th, I see that it is essentially a book signing tour for her new book The Art of Asking.... however, knowing Palmer, I am pretty there will be some singing/dancing involved, as well as an appearance from Neil Gaiman and other special guests.

Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones by Paul Trynka (Viking)
The vast majority of the book is focused on Brian Jones and the early days of the Rolling Stones, like the book title suggest, but like many of you, I was more interested in his death - which happened less than a month after he was walked away from the band.

A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man by Holly George-Warren (Viking)
Fans searching for an account of the life of enigmatic and underappreciated singer/songwriter Alex Chilton need look no further; March 24th marks the release of “A Man Called Destruction” by Holly George-Warren, a thorough and highly enjoyable document of Chilton’s life and career.

Eminent Hipsters by Donald Fagen (Viking)
Eminent Hipsters is the new memoir by Donald Fagen, best known as the singer/songwriter of 70's jazz/rock band, Steely Dan.
I can't hear "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" without instantly being transported back to childhood memories of riding in the way, way back of my parent's station wagon, with the ol' Steely Dan cassette playing in the woodgrain dashboard.

Autobiography by Morrissey (Penguin Classics)
As a Morrissey fan, I should tell you that this is the first time Morrissey will tell his story in his own words. Previously official biography Landscapes of the Mind by David Bret was, how shall I say it, boring.

Stone Roses: War and Peace by Simon Spence (St. Martin's Griffin)
When I started reading War and Peace, I quickly realized how very little I knew about the Stone Roses. Most of my recollections of the band were through the NME, Melody Maker, and Select Magazines, which does not really paint a picture of how it was back then.

2015:
Since Select Magazine went away in 2000, Uncut Magazine took over as my favorite music magazine. In their latest issue, which came out in the stores in the UK this week (January 27th), they featured the 30th Anniversary of Meat is Murder with a The Smiths cover.